ZAZ:A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

SN1987a goes boom:ZAZ: A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

SN1987a goes boom:ZAZ: A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

They wanted the magical test that can diagnose blood-borne disease within hours of possible exposure?

Uhm, it's been a while since I've been around a diabetic, but isn't a glucometer the device that measures the already-taken blood? I thought you used a lancet/lancing device (spring loaded needle in a plastic pen-type case) to do the stick and then put the strip with the blood into the glucometer.

criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

cgraves67:SN1987a goes boom: ZAZ: A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

True but, the school must CYA just in case, offer the trip in the ambulance cut liability.

SN1987a goes boom:I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

If someone is pricked with a needle that might have a pathogen on it, what's the likelihood that anything at all would show up on bloodwork within at least a few hours, let alone be fast-acting enough to warrant a ZOMG AMBULANCE ride to the hospital?

Since the danger of pinpricking multiple people is not immediately obvious, I'm guessing she just didn't realize what a big deal it would be. She just thought is was augmented poking.

cgraves67:Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

I'm guess the actual scenario was more like, "OH NOES MY LITTLE SNOWFLAKE HAS AIDS I NEED AN AMBULANCE!"

MFK:criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

Having a vial of mercury (which used to be a perfectly appropriate thing for show & tell) can result in a lockdown and HAZMAT cleaning these days.

Hats off to the Most Pussified Generaton Ever. I sincerely fear for the future of this country.

cgraves67:SN1987a goes boom: ZAZ: A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

No, they wouldn't die immediately, but it's one of those things where the risk is so absurdly great if one of the kids was HIV positive that the school was taking no chances. Get the kids there fast, run blood tests, and possibly administer anti-retroviral drugs ASAP to attempt some prophylactic protection. Sure, a few hours wouldn't likely make too much of a difference, but getting HIV at age 13 and then parents wondering if a few hours difference could have saved them would be one hell of a downer.

When dealing with viruses I wouldn't want to risk it. I used to live in an area where there were many cases of rabies (skunks, racoons, etc). That is one farking scary disease considering that the instant you first recognize the symptoms, it's already too late and you are going to die a horrible death.

(Yes, in theory there was that one case where they treated rabies by treating with a drug induced coma and then a LONG period of slowly bringing the person back, but it's not proven that the girl was actually saved by that. Even then, I'd take several thousand years of 100% certain horrible death of thousands of people vs a 0.00001% chance of not dying)

ie: even accepting those few cases, the death rate is still 99.99999%. fark rabies.

destrip:MFK: criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

Having a vial of mercury (which used to be a perfectly appropriate thing for show & tell) can result in a lockdown and HAZMAT cleaning these days.

Hats off to the Most Pussified Generaton Ever. I sincerely fear for the future of this country.

Bloodletting with leeches was also perfectly appropriate when people were medically ignorant. How about some of those wonder-treatment x-rays. They'll cure your listlessness and hysteria! Just plug in this xray lamp and take 15 minutes of exposure twice a day.

People these days can't take a bit of toxic material or some healthy ionizing radiation.

aerojockey:madcan34: childish reaction or signs of a future mass murderer?

Since the danger of pinpricking multiple people is not immediately obvious, I'm guessing she just didn't realize what a big deal it would be. She just thought is was augmented poking.

cgraves67: Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

I'm guess the actual scenario was more like, "OH NOES MY LITTLE SNOWFLAKE HAS AIDS I NEED AN AMBULANCE!"

Well it is Boynton, and if I remember the placecorrectly we are talking high likelihood of blacks...dramatically increases the chances of both AIDS and posturing for a lawsuit.

Perducci:The girl, whom police did not name, arrived at school in the morning and immediately boarded a bus, which then rolled to gym class at Meadows Park, just down the road.

And in other news: Kids are now given bus rides to gym class?

In my town, the athletic field was a few blocks down the road. Back when students schedules weren't so tightly packed, you could jog to the fields for phys ed.

The problem is, if your class period is 60 minutes, do you have a 10 minute dress period, a 20 minute jog to the field, turn around, 20 minute jog back, and then 10 minutes to shower/change? Great if you want to do jogging, not so great if you want to do anything else.

Part of the issue is that schools used to have a lot of land, but dumbass schoolboards sold it off for quick bucks.

Glucometers are not "spring loaded" and do not contain needles. Those are lancets.

As for the blood testing within hours, it is to establish a baseline. If I'm exposed to potentially pathogen-containing fluid I am tested immediately. That way, they can establish that I didn't have Hep C at the time of exposure, was exposed to Hep C blood, and then developed Hep C. That way it's easier to prove it is a work-related illness. If all these kids submit to testing, and no one has any terrible disease, it would put a lot of minds at ease, I think.

Teens don't fully understand the dangers inherent in breaking the skin with pointy objects. My youngest sibling was busted for selling tattoos in the high school bathroom. There was no intention to spread communicable diseases. When the possibility of Hepatitis was raised his/her reaction was "What's hepatitis?" When the possibility of HIV/AIDS was raised, his/her reaction was "Oh sh-t."

Spartacus Outlaw:SN1987a goes boom: ZAZ: A few children asked to be taken to the hospital for a check-up, catching rides in an ambulance.

That's an expensive pinprick. I wonder who ends up paying the bill.

I doubt she cleaned the needle between uses, so they may have a valid point in wanting to get a checkup and possibly some bloodwork done (I know they were kids, but you never know who is carrying what).

They wanted the magical test that can diagnose blood-borne disease within hours of possible exposure?

Do they still give gamma globulin shots following needle pricks? Maybe the parents wanted the kids to receive some sort of injection to kick the immune system into high gear?

When I was in middle school, circa 1991 or so, I watched a girl stick a long push-pin (not sure what it was exactly, but it was long, like an inch+ long) almost all the way to the hilt into her arm, completely nonchalantly, maybe wincing a little. I don't really remember the events surrounding it, but I remember the class it was in (American History) and the teacher. I recall it not bleeding much at all. Looking back on it, I'm not sure if this was some kind of self-harm "cutting-esque" behavior or what. I seem to remember she seemed happy and was joking about it.

cgraves67:Certainly, but ambulance rides are for emergencies, not checkups and lab work. No one is going to die in a matter of hours from a simple needle to the skin unless their immune system was already severely compromised. I think some kids were taking advantage of the situation a bit much.

Hey, Kids these days can die in minutes from just being in the same room as a *peanut*. Ambulance rides were probably mandatory.

Lunaville:Teens don't fully understand the dangers inherent in breaking the skin with pointy objects. My youngest sibling was busted for selling tattoos in the high school bathroom. There was no intention to spread communicable diseases. When the possibility of Hepatitis was raised his/her reaction was "What's hepatitis?" When the possibility of HIV/AIDS was raised, his/her reaction was "Oh sh-t."

Your sibling had a tattoo gun and was inking in the bathroom? Man, those breaks between classes are longer than I remember.

destrip:MFK: criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

Having a vial of mercury (which used to be a perfectly appropriate thing for show & tell) can result in a lockdown and HAZMAT cleaning these days.

Hats off to the Most Pussified Generaton Ever. I sincerely fear for the future of this country.

We must live in the same snowy rural county - mercury closed HS here last year... year before? Hard to say all the silliness melts together.

On a slightly serious note, this almost seems like a good idea. Get a school nurse once a year to give a simple blood sugar test to every student. If the numbers are too high, the school gives the parents a heads-up. Cost is minimal and juvenile diabetes gets checked.

George_Spelvin:On a slightly serious note, this almost seems like a good idea. Get a school nurse once a year to give a simple blood sugar test to every student. If the numbers are too high, the school gives the parents a heads-up. Cost is minimal and juvenile diabetes gets checked.

I have a better idea. Why don't parents take their children for yearly checkups and their pediatrician can check the portly ones for diabetes.

destrip:MFK: criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

Having a vial of mercury (which used to be a perfectly appropriate thing for show & tell) can result in a lockdown and HAZMAT cleaning these days.

Hats off to the Most Pussified Generaton Ever. I sincerely fear for the future of this country.

Exactly. It isn't like introducing foreign blood or heavy metals into your bloodstream can get you deathly ill or anything. What is the worst that could happen? This is a complete non-story.

MFK:criminal charges?? for a thirteen year old??? Clearly this was a stupid move on the kid's part, but seriously?? Ambulance rides?? I'm only in my 30s, but FFS, when i was a kid, this sort of thing would be dealt with by giving the offender a stern talking to and then a few days in detention. WTF?

Yeah, that was probably before AIDS, MRSA, 'Super Bugs', etc., any of which can be deadly.

PsyLord:Lunaville: Teens don't fully understand the dangers inherent in breaking the skin with pointy objects. My youngest sibling was busted for selling tattoos in the high school bathroom. There was no intention to spread communicable diseases. When the possibility of Hepatitis was raised his/her reaction was "What's hepatitis?" When the possibility of HIV/AIDS was raised, his/her reaction was "Oh sh-t."

Your sibling had a tattoo gun and was inking in the bathroom? Man, those breaks between classes are longer than I remember.

No, don't be silly. Of course, s/he didn't have a tattoo gun. S/He had a single needle. I don't even want to know where s/he got it. S/He was basically using brute force to jam what had been the tip of this needle into people over and over again until a basic design was formed. I realize that sounds like a stupid thing to do, but think about this: other kids were paying my sibling to do this to them.

Well there are two kinds of needles used for glucometers. One is the straight pin type that shouldn't be re-used, the other is a safety spring-loaded kind that can't be used more than once each because it retracts into a plastic shell.

Don't know what kind she was using, but if the straight pin, then yes! Infection Control would be all over it and even though she didn't mean harm (or maybe she did), it puts a lot of people into danger of blood-borne diseases.